Category: Afghanistan

Officials of the Directorate of Prisons Affairs said that currently most of the prisoners are arrested for murder, drug trafficking, theft, and other crimes…reports Asian Lite News

Afghanistan’s Directorate of Prisons Affairs has said that out of 14,000 people imprisoned across the country, more than 1000 are women, Afghanistan-based news channel Tolo News reported.

According to department officials, all of these prisoners have criminal cases in their name. Mohammad Yusuf Mistari, the director of prison affairs, said: “Currently, there are 14,000 prisoners and more than 1000 of them are women”.

Till now, no political prisoners have been incarcerated and 15,000 people have been released after their cases were investigated, according to the head of the department.

“We check thousands of cases and 15,000 people have been released, nearly 3,000 prisoners will be released soon, and our prisons have the capacity for 20,000 prisoners,” said Mohammad Yusuf Mistari, the director of prison affairs.

Some women prisoners in Pul-e-Charkhi prison called on the Taliban to investigate their cases promptly and rule on them transparently. Meanwhile, some analysts said that prisoners’ cases must be investigated transparently.

“Every prisoner from the arrest has some rights and their investigations and trial must be according to law and done transparently,” said Subhan Ullah Misbah, an analyst, as quoted by Tolo News.

Officials of the Directorate of Prisons Affairs said that currently most of the prisoners are arrested for murder, drug trafficking, theft, and other crimes.

As Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian crisis and grapples with the worst political turmoil, the European Union (EU) special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said that they are not in favour of isolating Afghanistan but recognising the Taliban regime is also not an option, pointing at the discrimination against women and atrocities being undertaken by the organization, Khaama Press reported.

Taliban prohibited co-education in universities, separating morning classes for girls and afternoon classes for boys. Recently, the group also banned secondary education for female students. Although this decision has been withdrawn, the schools are yet to be reopened. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Moscow talks focused on resolving Afghanistan’s situation

That more than covers the USD 17 million that Afghanistan’s central bank injects into the market each week….reports Asian Lite News

Millions of dollars are being smuggled into Afghanistan from Pakistan each day. This helps in providing support to the economy after the US and Europe denied the Taliban access to billions in foreign reserves, according to a report in Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper.

According to foreign media, for Islamabad, the outflows are worsening a rapidly developing economic crisis in the country. According to general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan Muhammad Zafar Paracha, traders, and smugglers are bringing as much as USD 5 million across the border daily.

That more than covers the USD 17 million that Afghanistan’s central bank injects into the market each week. The illicit flows show how the Taliban are evading sanctions after their 2021 takeover of the country, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

The smuggling is contributing to the depletion of Pakistan’s foreign reserves and adding to the downward pressure on the rupee as the currency tumbles to record lows. “Currency is being smuggled without any doubt. This has become quite a lucrative business,” Paracha said.

US-based The Diplomat magazine recently reported that money exchangers on both sides of the Durand Line have bolstered the Afghanistan-Pakistan US dollar cartel by manipulating trade, both actual and forged.

The Diplomat said the black market is dominated by the flow of US dollars across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which unifies the economic crises of the two countries.

Currency notes are often found hidden in vegetable trucks with perishable goods passing through the Green Channel. These trucks dodge customs scanners. US currency is smuggled via food items ranging from orange crates to beetle nut sachets, claimed the report.

Those involved in dollar smuggling have used the hawala system to monopolise currency in the region, the report said, adding that through the hawala system, money is transferred without any physical movement of cash or documentation.

The system helps sustain a parallel economy without any government regulations, in turn maintaining ground for illegal monopolization by cartels.

In interviews with The Diplomat, money exchangers in both Afghanistan and Pakistan insisted that the dollar cartel isn’t a monolith, and sustains itself with cooperation between sections of the traders and currency markets. A consistent exchange rate is used for systematic hawala transactions, with anyone involved in the currency trading business along the Af-Pak border being a participant, active or passive, according to the report.

“We deserve the cut that we get in all this since the market forces determining the interbank exchange rate do not factor in the violent forces enforcing their own regulations,” an exchanger from Kabul’s Sarai Shahzadeh market, one of the hubs for the dollar cartel’s dealing, told The Diplomat. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pakistan fails to reach deal with IMF over bailout

The ban on higher education for women in Afghanistan has reportedly drawn widespread reactions from all across the globe and criticism for the Taliban’s hardline policies in the country…reports Asian Lite News

Taliban on Friday detained an Afghan professor for protesting against the organization’s hardline regime which banned education for women in the country, Al Jazeera reported.

The de-facto authorities reportedly detained the Afghan educator, Ismail Mashal for tearing his degrees on live TV to protest against the Taliban’s ban on women’s education. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities detained an academic who ripped up his degrees on live television in protest of the country’s restriction on women’s university study, his aide claimed on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.

“From today I don’t need these diplomas any more because this country is no place for an education. If my sister and my mother can’t study, then I don’t accept this education,” veteran journalism lecturer Ismail Mashal said in the video that went viral on social media last month, according to Al Jazeera.

Under the Taliban’s rule, Afghans’ quality of life has drastically worsened, especially for women and girls. Women are increasingly prohibited from engaging in public spaces, sports, jobs, and education as time goes on.

Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.

These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes.

The ban on higher education for women in Afghanistan has reportedly drawn widespread reactions from all across the globe and criticism for the Taliban’s hardline policies in the country.

The females in the country are bearing the brunt of the Taliban’s hardlines Islamic regime the most as the outfit has imposed many repressive rules on women including banning education, work, and long travel.

On December 24, the de facto authorities issued a decree banning women from working in NGOs, TOLOnews reported. This came after they had already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls until what they termed further notice. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Afghanistan: Paktika quake victims living in caves to survive cold

The Islamic Emirate, on the other hand, deems Transparency International’s study on corruption in Afghanistan “unfair and untrustworthy.”…reports Asian Lite News

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the corruption and atrocities on Afghan people have only skyrocketed. The war-torn country was ranked 150 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2022 out of 180 countries, Tolo news stated citing a report released by Transparency International.

According to the research, countries with robust institutions and well-functioning democracies frequently rank at the top of the index. Denmark is now in the first place, with Finland and New Zealand tied for second. Somalia comes out as the most corrupt country, according to the report by Transparency International.

“When their work is in the government, they do not pay bribes to do that work. Also, the personal use of government resources by government officials has decreased, as well as the appointment of relatives and friends,” said Maiwand Rohani, an expert in governance and anti-corruption, Tolo news reported.

According to some Kabul citizens, corruption still persists in some government organisations.

The Islamic Emirate, on the other hand, deems Transparency International’s study on corruption in Afghanistan “unfair and untrustworthy.”

“They judge from a distance, perhaps they depend on rumours, they don’t research carefully and don’t investigate the matter deeply, thus their figures and calculations are not very credible,” Tolo news reported Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate as saying.

Unrecognized by most of the international community, the Taliban-led government has committed to disrespecting the human rights and rights of women. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis in the country has deepened. People lack basic amenities and are not allowed to speak freely.

Afghan women are staring at a bleak future due to a number of restrictions imposed by the Taliban governing aspects of their lives within 10 months of Afghanistan’s takeover.

The UN mission in Afghanistan has expressed concern about the announcement, saying that this decision contradicts numerous assurances regarding respect for and protection of all Afghans’ human rights, including those of women and girls.

The Taliban had warned that if the women disobeyed the order, their parents would be punished and imprisoned. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pakistan in a fix as China Puts Neelum Jhelum Project on back burner